IPL 2018: Win it for us this time around, Virat!

“If you don’t like Virat Kohli, you don’t understand Cricket,” said a wise man once. When it comes to the Indian Premier League (IPL), one cannot help but gape in awe at the astonishing congregation of stupendous cricketing talent under the same roof. What makes the high-profile tournament so lucrative is that it converts even the most hardcore Cricket haters to mesmerized viewers. In recent years, if we could attribute the increase in the game’s viewership in the country to a single entity, it’d be the man himself, ‘King Kohli’.

In spite of having garnered adulation and success from every quarter possible, Virat, it pains an ardent fan like me when I find the tally of IPL trophies under your name tantamount to nil. From leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) tentatively in 2014 to emerging as a confident leader in 2017, your journey has been nothing short of an inspiration to us. But we, the fans have just one entreaty to make to you. Please win the cup for us this time!

The journey thus far

The Royal Challengers Bangalore side have not been without their share of ups and down in the IPL. From having their main patron, Vijay Mallya absconding to falling short of the winner’s trophy at the very last hurdle, RCB has been through it all. The journey began in 2008, under the captaincy of veteran Indian batsman, Rahul Dravid and the results didn’t turn out to be too favourable.

Soon after, the captaincy changed hands and the reins were handed to the flamboyant English player, Kevin Pietersen first and to Indian veteran, Anil Kumble subsequently. 2009 saw RCB reach the finals for the first time, but we were left embittered as we fell short of that glinting trophy by mere inches.

After 2 more years of high expectations when we reached the semi-finals in 2010 and were runners-up once again in 2011, followed by 2 more years of lack-lustre performances, finally, you Virat, were at the helm of our beloved team. As a person who’d been a part of the RCB side since the very inception of the tournament, it excited us when we saw you donned in red and gold, ready to lead the pack. Till date, you’ve been the best captain RCB could’ve asked for, leading the team from the front, putting up your hand in the most crucial of situations and encouraging the young boys to give it their all without the fear of being lambasted for small mistakes.

2016 broke our hearts and we want redemption this time around

We can never explain the mixed feeling of rage and sadness that simmers inside us when we think back on the 2016 IPL trophy quest. Having started the tournament as underdogs, RCB slowly rose in the ranks. Much of our success has to be credited to young spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal who took 21 wickets in just 16 matches. But what we think of when we close our eyes and reflect on IPL 2016 is your genius, Virat. To have entered the tournament with no T20 centuries to your name and have ended the season with 4 hundreds in the kitty, is a feat nobody else apart from you could’ve achieved.

For those who do not know, Virat Kohli led his boys from the front in IPL 2016 and in the process, raked up a whopping total of 973 runs with 4 IPL centuries to his name, at a mind-boggling average of 81.08. Not only did this earn him the ‘Player of the Series’ award, but also won us all important matches, leading us to the touted final game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). We were so sure that the cup was ours this time, but it was not to be! Right on our home ground, M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, when Chris Gayle and you, yourself had made the target of 209 seem almost achievable, wickets crumpled like dominoes and we left gut-wrenched as we fell 9 runs short of the total.

But this time around, we want redemption. We’ve been waiting for that trophy for the last 10 years and this time, it has to be ours. With pundits calling the RCB side the best balanced squad in the history of their journey in the IPL, we’ve found a little courage in our hearts to hope, to dream, to expect. We can’t help but daydream about Brendon McCullum and AB de Villiers hitting those bit shots over the boundary, Quinton de Kock moving like lightning behind the wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal weaving his spin magic and Mohammad Siraj befuddle the opponents with his pace. But more than anything else, we want to see Virat Kohli come out all guns blazing, hitting those exquisite cover drive and those impeccable inside-out boundaries. Go lift the cup for us this time Team RCB, go win it for us this time, ‘King’ Kohli!